Seth Moulton

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., continues to hold a polling advantage over U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton in their closely watched Democratic primary contest.

Markey led Moulton 46%-33% in the new University of New Hampshire poll released Thursday.

Alex Rikleen, a political newcomer from Acton, is also seeking the Democratic Senate nomination. He took 6% support among primary voters in the UNH canvass.

The Thursday result is about the same as the 47% to 30% lead that Markey had over Moulton, D-6th District, in a Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll last week.

It’s also the second poll in a row to show Markey pulling less than 50% support — unusual for an incumbent.

In a statement, Moulton’s campaign seized on that data point, arguing that the Salem lawmaker is closing the gap with Markey and has the momentum in this race.”

“We have seen the gap close from 23 to 17 to 13 points in recent months because the voters want change and a new generation of leadership. Senator Markey has near-universal name recognition and 50 years in office, yet hasn’t cracked 50% of the vote in any of these polls,” Moulton spokesperson Taylor Hebble said. ”That is a clear signal that Massachusetts doesn’t want the status quo - they want a proven fighter who can take on Trump and bring about real change. That’s Seth Moulton.”

Markey’s campaign manager, Cam Charbonnier, said the poll “reflects what we’re hearing across the Commonwealth—voters trust Ed Markey to stand up to Donald Trump and deliver for Massachusetts.”

UNH pollsters sampled the opinions of 721 Massachusetts residents from April 16-20, with a margin of error of 3.6%.

The poll included smaller samples of 606 likely voters in the 2026 general election, with a margin of error of 4%, and 356 likely Democratic primary voters, with a margin of error of 5.2%.

The new UNH poll also took the pulse of the November electorate, where either Markey or Moulton is set to face Republican John Deaton.

There, Markey beats Deaton 55%-32% with 12% undecided among likely voters. Moulton would prevail over Deaton 56%-25%, with 18% undecided.

Markey remained broadly popular in the UNH survey, with nearly two-thirds of primary voters (62%) saying they had a favorable opinion of him, compared to 20% who did not, and 15% who were neutral.

Forty percent of the Democratic primary respondents to the UNH survey said they had a favorable opinion of Moulton, compared to 16% who had an unfavorable opinion and 28% who were neutral.

Sixteen percent said they did not know enough about Moulton to form an opinion, compared to 3% for Markey, suggesting that the Democratic challenger had some room to make up among primary voters.

Markey led among self-identified socialists and progressives, those aged 35 to 49, women and central Massachusetts and Middlesex County residents.

Moulton’s strongest backing came from self-identified liberals, respondents aged 50 to 64, those with a high school education or less, and Western Massachusetts and Essex County residents.